Growing awareness of the scale of the oral health challenge, and rising demand for positive solutions, is reflected in the record number of pre-registered delegates for the Arab Health Dentistry Conference, which forms part of the vertical conference section of 2005's Arab Health Exhibition.

The region's dental market is currently worth in excess of $2 billion annually and this phenomenal growth is what has prompted a record number of exhibitors connected with dentistry from both the public and private sectors to confirm their presence at next year's event, "said John Hassett, exhibitions director, healthcare division, IIR Middle East in an official release.

The Arab Health Dentistry Conference affords professionals the opportunity to collaborate and share information on the latest developments and technologies available.

2005's conference will cover a broad range of topics, including teledentistry, improvements in oral healthcare, prosthetic and maxillofacial surgery and aesthetic and cosmetic dental surgery.

As in the case of general health, oral health in the Gulf region has improved dramatically in recent years. Dentistry and oral wellbeing are both influenced by the overall performance of the area's economy, which has burgeoned over the past two decades, and by government and medical authorities' dental awareness campaigns.

The Arab Health conference sessions, which are recognized by the American Academy of Continuing Medical Education (AACME), also allow physicians from across the region to earn Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits.